Ruutu's welcome to Ottawa, Zubov's desire to play in the NHL, Foligno and Bass' chances of becoming Ottawa mainstays, Redden's mourning ends, a look at the potential third jersey the Sens might be forced to wear, a brief recap of the rookies' victory over Florida, and an amusing diversion from Russia (likely without love).
Jarkko Ruutu was popular with the Ottawa Citizen, the Ottawa Sun, and the Ottawa Senators webpage, scoring three very similar stories. He sounds excited to be joining the Senators, and eager to return to the excitement of playing in a Canadian city, Vancouver being his last stop up North. He admits to never being afraid to do whatever it takes to win, and that every game counts. It's good to know that there won't ever be a night off from Ruutu, who could easily challenge Neil for the most frustrating player on the ice, and I expect he will be keeping the opposition frustrated far more than we Sens fans. Just as he admits to being proud of his role as a hard-working agitator, Murray too agrees that he wants to see that role from Ruutu, and if the support he's gotten from every team he's played for is any indication, we can all be excited to see what he will bring to the team.
Both the Ottawa Citizen and the Ottawa Sun find themselves asking Zubov just how strong his desire to play in the NHL is. In Ilya, we find a man dedicated enough that he chose not to return home to Russia and his friends for the summer, opting instead to practice here, alongside Neil, and to work hard every day. That in itself should keep him high in the callup lineup, but more pleasing still is that he admittedly accepts the possibility that our NHL roster is too full, and he is prepared to continue his development in the AHL. Another Yashin, he is most certainly not, and his character should speak volumes of him, and just how much he does (or will) belong on the team, especially considering Murray's constant push for it from his players.
From the Ottawa Senators website, it is again suggested that Bass and Foligno have the edge on making the Sens' roster, due to experience and familiarity. It is suggested that Bass might not make the cut, as it might be better for him to continue developing in the AHL where he might score more, rather than on one of the Senators' less offensive lines. I can understand this, seeing as how we have plenty of veterans who can contribute as Bass is expected to do, and it would be nice to see Bass get a chance to develop into a bigger offensive threat than his physical role would suggest. I can't, however, see Foligno being sent down, not considering the strides he's made, and just how good he looked at season's end, especially entering the zone and curling around with the puck to wait for help, just as Alfie so often succeeds in doing.
The Ottawa Citizen has it that Redden is ready to move on. On the dreadful 07-08 season, his new deal and marriage have helped him move on. "I've already erased that from my memory bank." Glad to hear it Redden; we have erased your disappointing play from our memory banks as well, but we will eagerly watch to see if some of your former teammates might make it an interesting matchup the next time we meet.
Someone help me should the Ottawa Sun indeed have the official Sens third jersey pinned down. I've always loved the Sens' classic profile logo, also enjoying their third effort to remake the stalwart Senator. This jersey though, so absent any creativity or distinctiveness, is truly a bizarre and disappointing sight to see. I can only hope that it is a decoy, and that the true third jersey might bring back a more palatable, hopefully classic and enduring look to the team.
The Ottawa Senators rookies triumphed today in Kitchener, beating the host Florida Panthers squad 4-2 at the Aud in Kitchener, a great way to start the three day round robin tourney (although the goal they allowed less than 2 minutes into the game might have had some fooled early on). Forgive me my delays and lateness, but sometime early next week I hope to post my thoughts on all the games, which I have had the the pleasure of sating my hockey hunger with.
As a final diversion, the Citizen's James Gordon's hockey capital blog brings us some amusement from across the sea. If the thought of seeing Emery in a yellow jersey, allowing goal after goal, brings you pleasure (or if you want to see how a real spartan show is put on, no joke), I suggest you take a break and have a look.
Showing posts with label Bass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bass. Show all posts
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Variations on a Theme: Work Ethic
Today we have a quaint ticket reminder, a ray of hope for Bass with a spector of darkness for Neil, the power of home ice, and the least fun part of coaching the Sens.
First, I just thought it would be a good time to wake everyone up, and remind them that in a very short twelve days, we will finally be able to buy single game tickets. Yes, there are those of us who are so passionate about our Sens, but still unable to buy season's tickets or even a Hockey Country game pak, due either to our humble pay, our busy schedule, or that we are rarely in the right area code to partake of Alfie's hockey nectar. Tickets for October and November games go on sale next Saturday, September 20th at 10am.
NHL.com sees Bass breaking out this season, earning himself a full-time roster spot. In looking at players who didn't quite fit into the NHL or the AHL, playing between 15-60 NHL games (Bass appeared in 25), with the departures of forwards McGrattan (who appeared in 38 games last season), Robitaille (68 games), and Stillman (79 games, split between Carolina and Ottawa), Bass should be able to unpack his bags permanently. I have a little more faith in him than that, and hope I can give him more credit than just making the team 'because we've lost people'. It seems to me that too many people are suggesting that some of our two-way deals will have a good shot at making the team, whereas I simply think many of them are good depth signings that can help the team in Binghamton climb out of mediocrity. I also think that Bass will bring a good deal of toughness, which will help offset the loss of McGrattan, Commodore, and the less tactful choices Neil has made of late. I see him being a good contributor on our 3rd and 4th lines, and I'm sure he has it in him to give us a line that the opposition won't be fond of playing against, much like the Laraques line in Pittsburg or the Moen line we faced a year ago in the Final.
From FOX Sports, Spector's Blog lists today a bunch of players in the East who might find themselves on the block this season. From Ottawa, he suspects that Neil might be the candidate of choice to move. While he has been a fan favourite, and usually works hard and has the right dose of pest, times might be a-changin. The end of last season saw Neil take more than his usual share of dumb, unnecessary, and unfortunately game affecting penalties, not to mention the fact that he was completely absent when Mark Bell took out Fisher, Alfie, and nearly Redden as well in that one 'memorable' night. Couple that with some more sensible muscle and pest in Smith and Bass, and Neil's expiring contract could indeed see him moved to help toughen up a team, or at least thrown in by Murray to sweeten a trade deal just enough. The question that remains is whether or not Murray can pull the trigger on such a popular player, and to where Neil might be launched.
In another preview feature, NHL.com has the Ottawa Senators' top line of Alfie, Spezza, and Heater among the East's top 10 scorers on home ice. Alfredsson ranks 3rd in the East, while Heatley is 7th and Spezza comes in 9th. I'm not often proud to see such rankings, as being among the best scorer at home usually means you suffer on the road, unless you're vying for the Ross, as Malkin (leading home scorer in the East) and Ovechkin (2nd) were. Sure enough, crunch the numbers, and you'll find that while Alfie (1.40P/G) and Heatley(1.27P/G) scored prolifically at home, both experienced a 11-19% drop in P/G when they went on the road, down to 1.14 and 1.03P/G, respectively. Interestingly, it's Spezza that takes the consistency cake, as his production stays very close to 1.200P/G, and he actually has a better P/G on the road, by a narrow margin (1.19P/G home, 1.23P/G road, a 3% increase). Perhaps this speaks to the effect that the home crowd has on our boys, or maybe it was on the road where the locker room troubles really hit hard; either way, we can only hope that consistency remains the key focus this season.
Via KK, Ian Mendes of sportsnet writes today of a way in which we might find better scoring consistency: splitting up the NHL's most dominating line of last season. Speaking to both Alfie and Spezza, it would seem that the big three are expecting to find themselves competing to bring out the best in their teammates, rather than trying to take advantage of the amazing skills they all possess (and in speaking to Alfie, we hear that only four weeks after the end of the season, he felt all healed up from his run in with Bell, which would explain the lack of any limp when he called Karlsson down during June's draft). Indeed, many blame Paddock's reliance (and over-reliance) on the big three working best together, and I myself lost faith in his coaching skills when, during an interview, he flatly stated that he had no qualms about throwing them together at any time, and constantly playing them over anyone else, so long as nobody else was able to live up to his scoring hopes.
I think it's that kind of responsibility that doomed the team, let alone the negative impact comments and decisions like those have on hardworking but struggling players on the team. While Mendes seems to be suggesting that Alfie will move down to work with Fisher, while Spezza continues to feed Heatley on the first line, I have a different vision. I remember that when Spezza, Vermette, and Fisher were all out a couple seasons back, Heatley and Alfie still worked well sandwiched around Chris Kelly. I also remember just how well Heatley was at the Worlds, playing with Getzlaf as his centre while Spezza worked the 4th line. I would honestly love to see the three wind up on completely different lines. I could see Kelly or Vermette working well to feed Heatley, who works a lot harder but still finds his points when Spezza isn't hunting for him on the ice. Fisher worked well with Alfie when they hit the ice together last season, so that's some chemistry I probably wouldn't want to mess with.
As for Spezza, I believe it's time he proved he can make things happen, rather than merely work with the two best players on the team and benefit from it. It may not be a contract year, but if I'm not mistaken, this is the season that Spezza's No Trade Clause is still inactive. If he really wants to prove himself of value to the team, and I'm sure Hartsburg will give him that chance and push him towards it, it's on his own that he needs to prove it. The best centers, like Crosby and Malkin, have taken 4th liners and made them look like they belong in the starting lineup, and that's even without yet being relied upon to kill penalties and take on those less-glorious responsibilities. With his massive $7 million for 7 seasons contract kicking in, it's time for him to prove that he's really worth it.
First, I just thought it would be a good time to wake everyone up, and remind them that in a very short twelve days, we will finally be able to buy single game tickets. Yes, there are those of us who are so passionate about our Sens, but still unable to buy season's tickets or even a Hockey Country game pak, due either to our humble pay, our busy schedule, or that we are rarely in the right area code to partake of Alfie's hockey nectar. Tickets for October and November games go on sale next Saturday, September 20th at 10am.
NHL.com sees Bass breaking out this season, earning himself a full-time roster spot. In looking at players who didn't quite fit into the NHL or the AHL, playing between 15-60 NHL games (Bass appeared in 25), with the departures of forwards McGrattan (who appeared in 38 games last season), Robitaille (68 games), and Stillman (79 games, split between Carolina and Ottawa), Bass should be able to unpack his bags permanently. I have a little more faith in him than that, and hope I can give him more credit than just making the team 'because we've lost people'. It seems to me that too many people are suggesting that some of our two-way deals will have a good shot at making the team, whereas I simply think many of them are good depth signings that can help the team in Binghamton climb out of mediocrity. I also think that Bass will bring a good deal of toughness, which will help offset the loss of McGrattan, Commodore, and the less tactful choices Neil has made of late. I see him being a good contributor on our 3rd and 4th lines, and I'm sure he has it in him to give us a line that the opposition won't be fond of playing against, much like the Laraques line in Pittsburg or the Moen line we faced a year ago in the Final.
From FOX Sports, Spector's Blog lists today a bunch of players in the East who might find themselves on the block this season. From Ottawa, he suspects that Neil might be the candidate of choice to move. While he has been a fan favourite, and usually works hard and has the right dose of pest, times might be a-changin. The end of last season saw Neil take more than his usual share of dumb, unnecessary, and unfortunately game affecting penalties, not to mention the fact that he was completely absent when Mark Bell took out Fisher, Alfie, and nearly Redden as well in that one 'memorable' night. Couple that with some more sensible muscle and pest in Smith and Bass, and Neil's expiring contract could indeed see him moved to help toughen up a team, or at least thrown in by Murray to sweeten a trade deal just enough. The question that remains is whether or not Murray can pull the trigger on such a popular player, and to where Neil might be launched.
In another preview feature, NHL.com has the Ottawa Senators' top line of Alfie, Spezza, and Heater among the East's top 10 scorers on home ice. Alfredsson ranks 3rd in the East, while Heatley is 7th and Spezza comes in 9th. I'm not often proud to see such rankings, as being among the best scorer at home usually means you suffer on the road, unless you're vying for the Ross, as Malkin (leading home scorer in the East) and Ovechkin (2nd) were. Sure enough, crunch the numbers, and you'll find that while Alfie (1.40P/G) and Heatley(1.27P/G) scored prolifically at home, both experienced a 11-19% drop in P/G when they went on the road, down to 1.14 and 1.03P/G, respectively. Interestingly, it's Spezza that takes the consistency cake, as his production stays very close to 1.200P/G, and he actually has a better P/G on the road, by a narrow margin (1.19P/G home, 1.23P/G road, a 3% increase). Perhaps this speaks to the effect that the home crowd has on our boys, or maybe it was on the road where the locker room troubles really hit hard; either way, we can only hope that consistency remains the key focus this season.
Via KK, Ian Mendes of sportsnet writes today of a way in which we might find better scoring consistency: splitting up the NHL's most dominating line of last season. Speaking to both Alfie and Spezza, it would seem that the big three are expecting to find themselves competing to bring out the best in their teammates, rather than trying to take advantage of the amazing skills they all possess (and in speaking to Alfie, we hear that only four weeks after the end of the season, he felt all healed up from his run in with Bell, which would explain the lack of any limp when he called Karlsson down during June's draft). Indeed, many blame Paddock's reliance (and over-reliance) on the big three working best together, and I myself lost faith in his coaching skills when, during an interview, he flatly stated that he had no qualms about throwing them together at any time, and constantly playing them over anyone else, so long as nobody else was able to live up to his scoring hopes.
I think it's that kind of responsibility that doomed the team, let alone the negative impact comments and decisions like those have on hardworking but struggling players on the team. While Mendes seems to be suggesting that Alfie will move down to work with Fisher, while Spezza continues to feed Heatley on the first line, I have a different vision. I remember that when Spezza, Vermette, and Fisher were all out a couple seasons back, Heatley and Alfie still worked well sandwiched around Chris Kelly. I also remember just how well Heatley was at the Worlds, playing with Getzlaf as his centre while Spezza worked the 4th line. I would honestly love to see the three wind up on completely different lines. I could see Kelly or Vermette working well to feed Heatley, who works a lot harder but still finds his points when Spezza isn't hunting for him on the ice. Fisher worked well with Alfie when they hit the ice together last season, so that's some chemistry I probably wouldn't want to mess with.
As for Spezza, I believe it's time he proved he can make things happen, rather than merely work with the two best players on the team and benefit from it. It may not be a contract year, but if I'm not mistaken, this is the season that Spezza's No Trade Clause is still inactive. If he really wants to prove himself of value to the team, and I'm sure Hartsburg will give him that chance and push him towards it, it's on his own that he needs to prove it. The best centers, like Crosby and Malkin, have taken 4th liners and made them look like they belong in the starting lineup, and that's even without yet being relied upon to kill penalties and take on those less-glorious responsibilities. With his massive $7 million for 7 seasons contract kicking in, it's time for him to prove that he's really worth it.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Sunday Pestilism
Being August, there's a dearth of news going on that we all expect. It does mean that most interesting stories will come not from fact, but speculation, which is what I saw today. Spector posted a story by the Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa, a respected writer who covers the Bruins.
Hidden amongst all the Bruin-speak was a little side note on how this is a contract year for Chris Neil, and his skill in "thumping, skating, shooting" is a hard to find mix that is key in many of today's teams. There have been three names worth comparing in the Sens' lineup when touching on the subject of thumpings: Neil, Bass, and newly-acquired Ruutu. All are measured primarily on their ability to cause trouble for everyone not in a Sens jersey.
The question is, is Neil worth not only a new contract, but a new one for Shinzawa's suggested $2.2 million, double his current cap hit? I'm not so sure. We've all seen good pesting and fighting from all three boys, with Bass giving us the least to look at so far at the NHL level. In 21GP this season, Bass scored 2-2--4 for .200P/G, while going -1 with 19PIM. Compare this with Ruutu, 71GP, 6-10--16, .225P/G, +3 with 138PIM, and Neil, 68GP, 6-14--20, .294P/G, -3 with 199PIM.
There are many even points with all three. All are either 6'0 or 6'1, weighing 200-214lbs, so physically they've got the same heft to throw around (without knowing who might be carrying the muscle and who the beer). They also all stay roughly close to neutral +/-. The two main statistical differences are points and PIM.
I'd be tempted to say Bass is the best, registering just under a PIM per game, but he only played a quarter of the season, with the reduced expectations of being a rookie and of having Neil on your side. Ruutu had Hall and Laraques to work with, but still managed to get into 2PIM/game worth of trouble. Neil, carrying the brunt of the Sens' load, tops out at 2.5PIM/game. How do you compare them though? I don't think it's fair to blast or put a halo over Bass yet for anything, being only 21 with same in games of NHL experience. To look at Ruutu and Neil, we could say Neil's worse since he takes more PIM/game, but then again Ruutu's only slightly better, and he had Laraques and Hall on his team, while Neil had seldom-seen Bass and rarely-seen Grats.
To compare them in point production, Neil is the clear winner. Bass is still unproven, and Ruutu's topped out at 17Pts and prior to last season .207P/G throughout his entire career. But think again about Neil. While he's the best this season at .294P/G, he was .341P/G in 06-07, and .418P/G after the lockout. Before the lockout, he topped out at 17Pts and .236P/G in three seasons. Quite a jump, eh? But two years ago, had it not been for Hasek's Olympic injury and Emery's inexperience, we had one of the better Sens' squads in a while, while last year we had a team good enough to rank second in the East in points and make it all the way to the Cup Final. I'd argue that it's been our team, more than Neil, that's been responsible for his better numbers, and hence as the team's slid from the post-lockout to Cup Final to this season, so has he.
He has slid in more than that though. I think we've all yelled at Neil more than once this season for taking some of the dumbest penalties, like falling on top of someone, then punching or cross-checking them in the face while getting up. When we wanted fight from Neil, we had freakin' Spezza having to drop the gloves. He's beginning to let us down.
Barring some kind of massive comeback, I think this might well be Neil's last season with the Sens. As far as energy lines go, we've got all three of these boys this year, and players like Donovan, McAmmond, and forward-playing Schubert. Nobody needs two lines of energy. Considering that Bass has the youth, and Ruutu's locked in for three years starting this season, while being an always respected member of each team he's played for, I think it might well be time to say our farewells.
Of course, this is just humble old me, taking respected speculation and adding my not-so-proven speculation on top of it, since it's such a slow day. Neil is loved by the fans, and he could still pull himself around enough to merit a new deal. Otherwise, he might be as good as gone, or as good as tradebait. We'll be able to see as soon as the season starts, which can't come soon enough!
Hidden amongst all the Bruin-speak was a little side note on how this is a contract year for Chris Neil, and his skill in "thumping, skating, shooting" is a hard to find mix that is key in many of today's teams. There have been three names worth comparing in the Sens' lineup when touching on the subject of thumpings: Neil, Bass, and newly-acquired Ruutu. All are measured primarily on their ability to cause trouble for everyone not in a Sens jersey.
The question is, is Neil worth not only a new contract, but a new one for Shinzawa's suggested $2.2 million, double his current cap hit? I'm not so sure. We've all seen good pesting and fighting from all three boys, with Bass giving us the least to look at so far at the NHL level. In 21GP this season, Bass scored 2-2--4 for .200P/G, while going -1 with 19PIM. Compare this with Ruutu, 71GP, 6-10--16, .225P/G, +3 with 138PIM, and Neil, 68GP, 6-14--20, .294P/G, -3 with 199PIM.
There are many even points with all three. All are either 6'0 or 6'1, weighing 200-214lbs, so physically they've got the same heft to throw around (without knowing who might be carrying the muscle and who the beer). They also all stay roughly close to neutral +/-. The two main statistical differences are points and PIM.
I'd be tempted to say Bass is the best, registering just under a PIM per game, but he only played a quarter of the season, with the reduced expectations of being a rookie and of having Neil on your side. Ruutu had Hall and Laraques to work with, but still managed to get into 2PIM/game worth of trouble. Neil, carrying the brunt of the Sens' load, tops out at 2.5PIM/game. How do you compare them though? I don't think it's fair to blast or put a halo over Bass yet for anything, being only 21 with same in games of NHL experience. To look at Ruutu and Neil, we could say Neil's worse since he takes more PIM/game, but then again Ruutu's only slightly better, and he had Laraques and Hall on his team, while Neil had seldom-seen Bass and rarely-seen Grats.
To compare them in point production, Neil is the clear winner. Bass is still unproven, and Ruutu's topped out at 17Pts and prior to last season .207P/G throughout his entire career. But think again about Neil. While he's the best this season at .294P/G, he was .341P/G in 06-07, and .418P/G after the lockout. Before the lockout, he topped out at 17Pts and .236P/G in three seasons. Quite a jump, eh? But two years ago, had it not been for Hasek's Olympic injury and Emery's inexperience, we had one of the better Sens' squads in a while, while last year we had a team good enough to rank second in the East in points and make it all the way to the Cup Final. I'd argue that it's been our team, more than Neil, that's been responsible for his better numbers, and hence as the team's slid from the post-lockout to Cup Final to this season, so has he.
He has slid in more than that though. I think we've all yelled at Neil more than once this season for taking some of the dumbest penalties, like falling on top of someone, then punching or cross-checking them in the face while getting up. When we wanted fight from Neil, we had freakin' Spezza having to drop the gloves. He's beginning to let us down.
Barring some kind of massive comeback, I think this might well be Neil's last season with the Sens. As far as energy lines go, we've got all three of these boys this year, and players like Donovan, McAmmond, and forward-playing Schubert. Nobody needs two lines of energy. Considering that Bass has the youth, and Ruutu's locked in for three years starting this season, while being an always respected member of each team he's played for, I think it might well be time to say our farewells.
Of course, this is just humble old me, taking respected speculation and adding my not-so-proven speculation on top of it, since it's such a slow day. Neil is loved by the fans, and he could still pull himself around enough to merit a new deal. Otherwise, he might be as good as gone, or as good as tradebait. We'll be able to see as soon as the season starts, which can't come soon enough!
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